Senior Casualty Underwriter at Santam Insurance

What will you do?

• Commercial Underwriting has a position available for a Senior Casualty Underwriter and will be based at our Alice Lane Office in Johannesburg.  
• This role will report to the Manager: Commercial Casualty; Cyber; Accident Underwriting.

PRINCIPLE ACCOUNTABILITIES INCLUDE: 

• Develop and maintain all commercial products and coverages including the associated underwriting guidelines; rating; training material; system rules & processes; with relevant communiques to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Conduct ad hoc training to both internal and external stakeholders and assist in developing and building specialist technical underwriting skills within Santam.
• Development of new coverages to ensure market competitiveness to meet clients’ needs as the risk environment changes and to ensure market competitiveness.
• Work with Actuaries to determine appropriate rating structures and develop rating tools/solutions for these classes of business for use by external business partners.
• Assist internal stakeholders on more complex covers that require specialist underwriter input in respect of wording interpretations and decision making.
• Be able to adjust wordings and design clauses to include or exclude cover in line with underwriting decisions and risk appetite, whilst always being aware of the impact on other covers in the commercial portfolio.
• Produce comprehensive business cases to proposals for changes to risk appetite.
• Analyse and sign-off of broker bespoke products. 
• Ensure C&P Growth and Profit targets are tracked and achieved.
• Keep abreast of developments in global / local markets and claims trends. 
• Provide consistent and excellent service delivery in line with Santam Experience requirements.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor of Commerce Degree/AIISA or comparable short term insurance qualification (focus on legal framework training would be preferred e.g., Law as a major). If B Comm only, should have completed or at least started insurance specific qualifications. 
• FAIS compliance (min of 120 credits in commercial insurance)
• Advance knowledge in MS Office:  Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
• RE 5 qualification.
• Minimum of 10 years’ insurance industry experience of which a minimum of 5 years spent in a technical commercial underwriting department. 
• 5 years’ experience specifically in Commercial Liability underwriting. 
• In depth Liability, Fidelity and Group Personal Accident (GPA) technical underwriting skills and knowledge.
• Knowledge of Cyber, Professional Indemnity and Directors and Officers insurance would be an additional benefit.

Skills

• Able to simplify complex legal and insurance terms into plain language for stakeholders. 
• Ability to statistically analyse information and data.
• Commercial Underwriting skill.
• Advanced Excel.
• Management experience in Commercial Underwriting.
• Excellent English and Afrikaans communication & report-writing skills.
• Presentation skills.
• Establish interpersonal relationship, negotiating and networking skills.
• Ability to influence.
• Ability to learn new systems quickly.
• Ability to work under pressure with appropriate prioritisation skills.
• Results-orientated and deadline driven.
• Good analytical skills and problem-solving abilities.
• Skilled in leading and coaching staff.
• Creativity and ability to innovate and find new solutions to new challenges.
• Able to organise own and other workloads to achieve priorities and objectives.
• Demonstrate capability to think of the organisation holistically.
• Build and lead a team and ensure Santam remains market leader in Commercial Property & Casualty risks.

Knowledge

• Expert knowledge of Liability covers and how to find solutions to complex issues.
• Extensive knowledge of legal terms and South African legislation.
• Extensive short-term insurance knowledge including the principles of insurance and underwriting.
• Santam Underwriting and Policy Administration Systems, namely: WEBe, Mainframe, Guidewire – PolicyCenter & ClaimsCenter.
• Fully understand factors that should be considered when calculating Liability, Fidelity and GPA premiums and subsequent total exposure of these covers. 

Competencies

• Collaborates – building partnerships and working collaboratively and inclusively with others to meet shared objectives. 
• Client focus – building strong client relationships and delivering client centric solutions. 
• Drives results – consistently seizing opportunities and achieving results even under tough circumstances. 
• Flexibility and adaptability - rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficulty. 
• Cultivates Innovation – Creating new and better ways for Santam to be successful.
• Problem solving.
• Ability to cope with conflicting demands and to prioritise tasks.
• Developing and implementing strategy.
• Ability to perform under pressure.
• Attention to detail and meticulous by nature.